Lasting machines



Oct. 30, 1956 B. JORGENSEN LASTING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 1, 1953 [n u e n f or Bernhardt Jorgensen Oct. 30, 1956 I B. JORGENSE-N 2, 3

LASTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 1, 1953 3 Sheets$heet 2 [n 1') en for fi'ernhar'df Jorgensen By 111' A! Oct. 30,. 1956 B. JORGENSEN LASTING MACHINES 3 Shets-$heet 3 Filed Oct. 1', 1953 1110612 for Ber'hhczrdz Jorgensen .are adapted to operate in a novel manner. Iticularly, each upper-spreading finger includes a body United States Patent LASTING MACHINES Bernhardt Jorgensen, Marblehead, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 1, 1953, Serial No. 383,453

4 Claims. (Ci. 12-113)" This invention relates to lasting machines, and particularly to improvements in toe-lasting machines of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,324,509, granted on July 20, 1943, on an application filed in my name. While the invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a toe-lasting machine of the type disclosed in the mentioned patent, it will be understood that features thereof are not limited to use in a machine of that exact mechanical construction or to the particular physical embodiments herein illustrated.

The toe-lasting machine of the mentioned patent is 1 provided with two side grippers which are adapted to seize the upper materials at the opposite sides of the toe end of a shoe and to tension the upper materials about the toe end of a last by movements extending widthwise and heightwise of the last. Each of these grippers includes a pair of jaws which are relatively movable heightwise of the last from open to closed position for seizing upper materials inserted between the jaws. In presenting a'shoe to be lasted to a machine of this type, it is necessary that the upper materials at the toe end of the shoe be carefully spread out and introduced between the open jaws of the two side grippers by the operator, for the reasons set forth in the aforementioned patent. In order to relieve the operator of this duty, it has been previously proposed, as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,468,882, granted on May 3, 1949, on an application filed in my name, to provide the machine with means for thus properly positioning the marginal portions of the upper materials between the jaws of the side grippers. As illustrated in the last mentioned patent, the means thus provided comprise upper-spreading fingers which are arranged to engage marginal portions of the upper materials located between the grippers and other portions of the margin which extend inwardly over the bottom of the insole on the last and which are operated to spread or deflect the margin of the upper materials outwardly into the open gripper jaws just prior to the closing of these jaws. Although this prior arrangement operates generally in a satisfactory manner, it may happen, especially if the margin of the upper materials is not at least partially held outspread by the operator, that these upper-spreading fingers will slip over the margin without spreading or deflecting the upper materials in the intended manner and thus fail properly to position the marginal portions of the upper materials between the jaws of the two side grippers.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide, in a toe-lasting machine of the aforementioned type, a novel and improved upper-spreading arrangement wherein the means for positioning the marginal portions of the upper materials between the open jaws of the side grippers is positive and unfailing in action. With this purpose in view, in the herein illustrated machine, the upper-spreading fingers are of an improved shape and More parportion by means of which it is operated and" an offset ice end portion for engaging and deflecting the marginal portion of the upper materials outwardly and into the open gripper jaws. These upper-spreading fingers are supported respectively on the two side grippers and hence partake of all movements of these grippers. In addition, each upper-spreading finger is mounted for movement relatively to the gripper on which it is supported and, during such relative movement of the upper-spreading finger which, in the herein illustrated machine, is eflected by means of fluid under pressure, the olfset portion of the finger which is directly in line with the jaws of its associated gripper moves first in a heightwise direction into yielding contact with the bottom of the insole, inwardly from the edge of the shoe bottom beyond the upper materials, and then widthwise of the shoe outwardly through the open gripper jaws and carries with it the marginal portion of the upper materials on that side of the shoe. Thus, these improved upper-spreading fingers positively and without fail will properly position the marginal portions of the upper materials on the opposite sides of the toe end of the shoe between the open jaws of the two side grippers.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will appear in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in the claims.

- In the drawings,

Fig. l is a plan view of a portion of a toe'lasting,

machine embodying the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of a portion of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1 and showing one of its operating elements in an initial position;

Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 2 but showing the mentioned operating element in different positions assumed during the operation of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the operating element shown in Figs. 2 to 4; and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the fluid pressure system of the machine with particular relation to the operating parts provided by the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the machine illustrated therein is provided with a toe gripper 10, two side grippers 12, 12, which are mounted on a support 14, and a toe plate 16. Except as will be noted below, these toe and side grippers are constructed and operated similarly to the toe and side grippers of the toe lasting machines disclosed in the aforementionedpatents. Thus, the jaws of the toe gripper are adapted to be closed by means of a piston 20 operating in a cylinder 22 when fluid under pressure is admitted to this cylinder through a pipe 24, while the upper jaws 26, 26 of the side grippers 12, 12 are adapted to be moved toward the lower jaws 2t 28 of these grippers by means of pistons 36, 3%, operating in cylinders 32, 32 when fluid under pressure is admitted to these cylinders through pipes 34, 34. The pipes 24, 34, 34 are connected to a common supply pipe 36 (Fig. 6), to which fluid under pressure is admitted from a manifold 38 under the control of a valve 49 at an appropriate time in the operating cycle as is explained more particularly in the mentioned patents. Suitable return springs 42, 44, 44 are provided for opening the jaws of the toe and side grippers, respectively, when the valve 40 is moved to a position to disconnect the common supply pipe 36 from the manifold and to connect this pipe to exhaust. As in the machines of the mentioned patents, the toe gripper 10 is mounted for movement lengthwise away from the toe end of a shoe in the machine and the side grippers 12, 12 are mounted for movement in directions widthwise away from ,the opposite sides of the toe end of the shoe for exerting tensioning pulls on the upper materials seized by the gripper and the support 14 is adapted to be moved heightwise relatively to the shoe to cause the toe and side grippers also to exert a heightwise pull on the upper materials.

The aforementioned tensioning movements of the toe and side grippers are etfected by fluid pressure operated mechanisms not shown or described here in detail but which are similar to the mechanism provided in the machines of the aforementioned patents to which reference may be made for an understanding of the construction and operation of these fluid operated mechanisms. It may be pointed out here, however, by reference to Fig. 6 of the drawings that the manifold 38 is supplied with fluid under pressure by means of a pump 50 which is continuously driven by a motor 52, this pump drawing operating fluid, such as oil, from an open sump '4 through a pipe 5'6 and discharging this fluid into the manifold 38 through a pipe 58 under the control of a pressure relief valve 60. When the machine is not in operation, an escape valve 62 permits operating fluid from the manifold 38 to return to the sump 54 without developing any substantial pressure in the manifold. This escape valve is adapted to be closed by a treadle (not shown) to cause the development of fluid pressure in the manifold and, shortly thereafter, as is explained in Patent No. 2,468,882, the valve is operated to admit fluid under pressure to the pipe 36 leading to the three gripper closing cylinders 22, 32, 32 to cause the pistons 20, 30, 30 in these cylinders to close the jaws of the grippers on the upper materials. As is explained more particularly in Patent No. 2,324,509, the operator then has an opportunity to see if the upper is properly gripped and if not to cause the grippers to open and then to close again. Thereafter, another depression of the treadle operates a valve 66 to admit fluid from the manifold 38 to a cylinder 68 for rotating a drum 69 having means thereon for automatically controlling the valves 62, 40, and 66 and for also controlling other valves associated with various operating instrumentalities of the machine, thus causing the machine to perform a cycle of operations in the manner pointed out in the aforementioned patents.

Each of the side grippers 12, 12 is supported on a slide 70 which in turn is mounted for sliding movement in the support 14, one of these slides which is associated with the right-hand side gripper appearing in Fig. 1. Since the left-hand side gripper is constructed exactly like the right-hand side gripper, except that the parts are reversed, the following description will be confined to the latter which is shown fully in Figs. 1 to 4 and partially in Fig. 5 of the drawings. For the purposes of this invention, there is secured to each of the slides 70 a bracket 80 which has formed integrally thereon a cylinder 82. Slidably received within this cylinder is a piston 84 which is connected by means of a link 86 to the upper end of a lever 88 which is pivotally supported on a portion of the bracket 80 by means of a pin 90. Connected to the lower end of this lever, by means of a pivot pin 92, is an arm 94 to the outer end of which there is secured an upper spreading finger 96 having an oflset end portion 98 which extends forwardly and toward the toe end of a shoe in the machine, see Figs. 1 and 5. The arm 94 has an upturned end 100 to which there is connected by means of a swivel pin 102 a trunnion block 104 and formed integrally with this block is a rod 106 which extends through a counterbored hole 108 in the lever 88. Seated in this counterbored hole is one end of a compression spring 110 the opposite end of which abuts against an adjusting nut 112 threaded onto the rod 106. Each of the two cylinders 82 is connected to the pipe 58 by means of a pipe 113 and, when the valve 62 is closed, as a result of the depression of the treadle, as above explained, the pistons 84, 84 will be moved inwardly against the resistance of return springs 114, 114 connected between the upper ends of the levers 88 and pins carried by the cylinders 82. Associated with each bracket is an adjustable stop screw 116 for limiting the swinging movement of the lever 88 by engagement with a stop surface 117 thereon in response to inward movement of the piston 84. Each lever 88 is also provided with a stop surface 118 which is adapted to engage the cylinder 82 when the piston 34 is moved reversely by the return spring 114.

When a shoe S is presented to the herein-illustrated machine, it will have previously been subjected to the usual pulling-over operation and ordinarily the upper materials U will have been lasted along the opposite sides of the forepart of the shoe beyond the toe portion. Hence, the margin of the upper materials adjacent to the toe end of the last will be secured to the bottom face of the insole I by means of the usual pulling-over tacks t, z, the toe pulling-over tack, of course, being removed by the operator before he presents the shoe to this machine. Also, the upper at the extreme toe end of the shoe will be spread outwardly as shown in Fig. 1, the toe end of the upper having been softened in a toe steamer in the usual manner.

When the machine is idle, the two upper spreading fingers 96, 96 will assume positions similar to those indicated in Fig. 2 and with their oflset end portions 98, 98 disposed some distance above and inwardly from the edge of the bottom face of the insole of a shoe presented to the machine with the insole in engagement with the toe plate 16, see also Fig. 1. When the treadle (not shown) is depressed, tthe valve 62 will be closed and pressure will build up in the pipe 58 and in the manifold 38. The depression of the treadle will also open the valve 40 to admit fluid under pressure to the gripper closing cylinders 22, 32, 32. As the pressure of the fluid builds up in the pipe 58 the pistons 84, 84 will be moved inwardly with respect to their cylinders and, through the action of levers 88, arms 94 and springs 110, the oflset end portions 98, 98 of the upper spreading fingers which are located directly in front of the side grippers, see Fig. 1, will first be moved in a direction heightwise of the shoe yieldingly into contact with the bottom face of the insole I and then these offset end portions will be moved widthwise of the shoe, as indicated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. As the offset end portions 98, 98 of the upper spreading fingers are thus moved in directions extending widthwise of the shoe they will draw the margin of the upper materials U directly through and between the open jaws 26, 28 of the side grippers 12, 12 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. Accordingly, when the jaws of the side grippers are subsequently closed, in the manner explained more particularly in Patent No. 2,468,882, the margin of the upper materials U at the opposite sides of the toe end of the shoe will positively and without fail be seized by the jaws of the side grippers 12, 12. As will be apparent from Figs. 4 and 5, the offset end portions 98, 98 of the upper spreading fingers 96, 96 move to positions slightly beyond the gripping faces of the jaws 26, 28 of the side grippers so as not to interfere with the seizing of the margin of the upper materials by these jaws. Inasmuch as the upper spreading fingers and their operating mechanisms are mounted on the brackets 70, 70, these parts will partake of the subsequent tensioning movements of the side grippers. Moreover, when the side grippers are adjusted in directions extending widthwise of the shoe, in the manner explained in Patent No. 2,324,509 to accommodate shoes of different sizes, the upper spreading fingers, by moving with the grippers, will be simultaneously adjusted to proper positions for operating on a shoe of that particular size.

With reference to the widthwise adjustment of the side grippers 12, 12, it may be explained that this adjustment is effected by mechanism similar to that disclosed in Patent No. 2,324,509 which mechanism includes bell crank levers connected to each of the slides 70, the bell crank lever associating with the right-hand side gripper appearing in Fig. 1 and being identified with reference character 120, and adjusting screws which cooperate with these bell crank levers, see screw 122, Fig. 1. In the prior machine of Patent No. 2,324,509, the jaws of the toe gripper :are of arcuate shape, see Fig. 12 of that patent, and the jaws of the side grippers are disposed at an angle to the direction of movement of the slides 168, 168 on which the side grippers are mounted. As will be apparent, as the side grippers of the prior machine are adjusted to accommodate a larger shoe, a gap will be opened up between the front corners-of the jaws of the side grippers and the ends of the jaws of the toe gripper. To overcome this difficulty, the jaws of the toe gripper of the herein-illustrated machine :are substantially straight, as indicated at 124, and these jaws are disposed substantially parallel to the direction of the widthwise adjusting movements of the side grippers 12, 12. In addition, the side grippers 12, 12 are located so that their corners lie 'clo'sely adjacent to the straight jaws of the toe grippers, see Figs. 1 and 5. 'lhus, for all positions of adjustment of the side grippers :and regardless of the size of the shoe being lasted, a substantially contimious and uninterrupted engagement of the jaws of the toe and side grippers with the margin of the upper materials is assured.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a lasting machine, grippers for seizing the marginal portions of the upper materials of a shoe on a last and for pulling the upper materials at the opposite sides of the toe of the last, respectively, in locations near other portions of the upper materials which extend inwardly over an insole on the bottom of the last at the opposite sides of the forepart beyond the toe, said grippers each comprising a pair of upper gripping jaws relatively movable from open to closed positions for seizing the margin of upper materials introduced therebetween, and means for properly positioning marginal portions of the upper materials between the jaws of said grippers before the jaws are closed, said means comprising a pair of members mounted, respectively, on each of said two grippers, each \of said members having a body portion located on the side of its associated gripper opposite to the toe end of the shoe and a forwardly extending offset end portion located in line with the jaws of the gripper and being mounted for movement to cause the offset portion to draw the upper material between the open jaws of the gripper.

2. In a lasting machine, grippers for seizing the marginal portions of the upper materials of ashoe on a last and for pulling the upper materials at the Opposite sides of the toe of the last respectively, in locations near other portions of the upper materials which extend inwardly over an insole on the bottom of the last at the opposite sides of the forepart beyond the toe, said grippers each comprising a pair of upper gripping jaws relatively movable from open to closed positions for seizing the margin of upper materials introduced thercbetween, and fluid pressure operated means for properly positioning marginal portions of the upper materials between the jaws of said grippers before the jaws are closed, said means comprising a pair of members mounted, respectively, on each of said two grippers, each of said members having a body portion located on the side of its associated gripper opposite to the toe end of the shoe and a forwardly extending offset end portion located directly in line with the jaws of the gripper and being mounted for movement to cause the offset portion to draw the upper materials between the open jaws of the gripper.

3. In a lasting machine, grippers for seizing the marginal portions of the upper materials of a shoe on a last and for pulling the upper materials at the opposite sides of the toe of the last, respectively, in locations near other portions of the upper materials which extend inwardly over an insole on the bottom of the last at the opposite sides of the forepart beyond the toe, said grippers each comprising a pair of upper gripping jaws relatively movable from open to closed positions for seizing the margin of upper materials introduced therebetween, and means for properly positioning marginal portions of the upper materials between the jaws of said grippers before the jaws are closed, said means comprising a pair of members mounted, respectively, on each of said two grippers, each of said members having a body portion located on the side of its associated gripper opposite to the toe end of the shoe and a forwardly extending offset end portion located directly in line with the jaws of the gripper and being mounted for movement to cause the offset portion to move first heightwise of the shoe into yielding contact with the bottom of the insole and then widthwise of the shoe to draw the upper materials between the open jaws of the gripper.

4. In a lasting machine, grippers for seizing the marginal portions of the upper materials of a shoe on a last and for pulling the upper materials at the opposite sides of the toe of the last, respectively, in locations near other portions of the upper materials which extend inwardly over an insole on the bottom of the last at the opposite sides of the forepart beyond the toe, said grippers each comprising a pair of upper gripping jaws relatively movable from open to closed positions for seizing the margin of upper materials introduced therebetween, and fluid pressure operated means for properly positioning marginal portions of the upper materials between the jaws of said grippers before the jaws are closed, said means comprising a pair of members mounted, respectively, on each. of said two grippers, each of said members having a body portion located on the side of its associated gripper oppo site to the toe end of the shoe and a forwardly extending end portion located directly in line with the jaws of the gripper and being mounted for movement to cause the offset portion to move first heightwise of the shoe yieldingly into contact with the bottom of the insole and then widthwise of the shoe to draw the upper materials between the open gripper jaws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 693,620 Preston Feb. 18, 1902 1,382,564 Sorensen June 21, 1921 1,596,930 Jorgensen Aug. 24, 1926 1,663,459 MacDonald Mar. 20, 1928 1,687,824 Bodle et a1. Oct. 16, 1928 2,160,846 Eastman et a1. June 6, 1939 2,377,887 Jorgensen June 12, 1945 2,403,003 Jorgensen July 2, 1946 

